Methods and systems for semi-autonomous vehicular convoys

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a method and system for enabling vehicles to closely follow one another through partial automation. Following closely behind another vehicle can have significant fuel savings benefits, but is unsafe when done manually by the driver. By directly commanding the engine torque and braking of the following vehicle while controlling the gap between vehicles using a sensor system, and additionally using a communication link between vehicles that allows information about vehicle actions, such as braking events, to be anticipated by the following vehicle, a Semi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying System that enables vehicles to follow closely together in a safe, efficient and convenient manner may be achieved.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/607,316, filed May 26, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/292,583, filed May 30, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,665,102, which is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/542,622, filed Jul. 5, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,744,666, all ofwhich are entitled “Systems and Methods for Semi-Autonomous VehicularConvoys” and are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety forall purposes. Additionally, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/542,622claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Appn. Ser. No. 61/505,076, filed onJul. 6, 2011, which is entitled “Systems and Methods for Semi-AutonomousVehicular Convoying” and is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety for all purposes.

Additionally, U.S. application Ser. No. 14/292,583 is a division of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/542,627, filed Jul. 5, 2012, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,582,006, entitled “Systems and Methods for Semi-AutonomousConvoying of Vehicles”, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety for all purposes, and which in turn also claims the benefit ofU.S. Prov. Appn. Ser. No. 61/505,076, filed on Jul. 6, 2011.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to systems and methods for enablingvehicles to closely follow one another through partial automation.Following closely behind another vehicle has significant fuel savingsbenefits, but is generally unsafe when done manually by the driver. Onthe opposite end of the spectrum, fully autonomous solutions requireinordinate amounts of technology, and a level of robustness that iscurrently not cost effective.

Currently the longitudinal motion of vehicles is controlled duringnormal driving either manually or by convenience systems, and duringrare emergencies it may be controlled by active safety systems.

Convenience systems, such as adaptive cruise control, control the speedof the vehicle to make it more pleasurable or relaxing for the driver,by partially automating the driving task. These systems use rangesensors and vehicle sensors to then control the speed to maintain aconstant headway to the leading vehicle. In general these systemsprovide zero added safety, and do not have full control authority overthe vehicle (in terms of being able to fully brake or accelerate) butthey do make the driving task easier, which is welcomed by the driver.

Some safety systems try to actively prevent accidents, by braking thevehicle automatically (without driver input), or assisting the driver inbraking the vehicle, to avoid a collision. These systems generally addzero convenience, and are only used in emergency situations, but theyare able to fully control the longitudinal motion of the vehicle.

Manual control by a driver is lacking in capability compared to even thecurrent systems, in several ways. First, a manual driver cannot safelymaintain a close following distance. In fact, the types of distance toget any measurable gain results in an unsafe condition, risking a costlyand destructive accident. Second, the manual driver is not as reliableat maintaining a constant headway as an automated system. Third, amanual driver when trying to maintain a constant headway has rapid andlarge changes in command (accelerator pedal position for example) thatresult in a loss of efficiency.

The system described here combines the components to attain the bestattributes of the state of the art convenience and safety systems andmanual control. By using the components and communication for the verybest safety systems, together with an enhanced version of thefunctionality for convenience systems, together with the features andfunctionality of a manually controlled vehicle, the current solutionprovides a safe, efficient convoying solution.

It is therefore apparent that an urgent need exists for reliable andeconomical Semi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying. These improvedSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying Systems enable vehicles to followclosely together in a safe, efficient, convenient manner.

SUMMARY

To achieve the foregoing and in accordance with the present invention,systems and methods for Semi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying areprovided. In particular the systems and methods for 1) A close followingdistance to save significant fuel, 2) Safety in the event of emergencymaneuvers by the leading vehicle, 3) Safety in the event of componentfailures in the system, 4) An efficient mechanism for vehicles to find apartner vehicle to follow or be followed by, 5) An intelligent orderingof the vehicles based on several criteria, 6) Other fuel economyoptimizations made possible by the close following, 7) Controlalgorithms to ensure smooth, comfortable, precise maintenance of thefollowing distance, 8) Robust failsafe mechanical hardware, 9) Robustfailsafe electronics and communication, 10) Other communication betweenthe vehicles for the benefit of the driver, 11) Prevention of othertypes of accidents unrelated to the close following mode, 12) A simplersystem to enable a vehicle to serve as a leading vehicle without thefull system.

Note that the various features of the present invention described abovemay be practiced alone or in combination. These and other features ofthe present invention will be described in more detail below in thedetailed description of the invention and in conjunction with thefollowing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the present invention may be more clearly ascertained,some embodiments will now be described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the airflow around a heavy truck.

FIG. 2 shows US transportation fuel use.

FIG. 3A shows typical fleet expenses for a heavy truck fleet.

FIG. 3B shows typical heavy truck fuel use contribution from windresistance (aerodynamic drag).

FIG. 4 shows typical fuel savings for a set of linked trucks.

FIG. 5 shows fuel savings versus following distance gap for a set ofheavy trucks.

FIG. 6 shows an example of long range coordination functionality betweentwo trucks in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an example of short range linking functionality between twotrucks.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary long range coordination system for longrange communications between trucks.

FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary short range communications between trucks.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary purpose and utility behind the shortrange communications between trucks.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary installation of system components for oneembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 is a simplified system block diagram illustrating one embodimentof the vehicular convoying control system in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a control box block diagram illustrating one embodiment ofthe vehicular convoying control system in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows exemplary components for a simplified version of system ofthe embodiment of FIG. 12 suitable for a lead vehicle.

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary flowchart for coordination and linkingfunctionality.

FIG. 16 shows some additional safety features for some embodiments.

FIG. 17 shows one exemplary embodiment of simplified aerodynamicoptimization for use with convoying vehicles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference toseveral embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the presentinvention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, thatembodiments may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structureshave not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscurethe present invention. The features and advantages of embodiments may bebetter understood with reference to the drawings and discussions thatfollow.

The present invention relates to systems and methods for Semi-AutonomousVehicular Convoying. Such a system enables vehicles to follow closelybehind each other, in a convenient, safe manner.

To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 shows the airflow around a typicaltruck 100. This system is aimed at reducing the drag caused by this typeof airflow. This drag causes the majority of fuel used intransportation, especially in the Heavy Truck sector (see FIG. 2). Theexpense of this fuel is significant for all private and industrialvehicle users, but especially so for heavy truck fleets, where the fuelis about 40% of operating expenses (see FIG. 3A). As shown in FIG. 3B,the wind resistance for a typical truck 100 is approximately 63% ofengine power at highway speeds. This wind resistance power isapproximately proportional to vehicle speed, asDrag_Power=Cd*(Area*0.5*density*Velocitŷ3), where Cd is the coefficientof drag and is a function of the object's shape.

Embodiments of the present invention enable vehicles to follow closelytogether. FIG. 5 (from “Development and Evaluation of Selected MobilityApplications for VII (a.k.a. IntelliDrive)”, Shladover 2009) shows thefuel savings possible for heavy trucks at various gaps, while FIG. 4shows one specific example of heavy trucks following closely.

In accordance with the present invention, a key part of thefunctionality of one such embodiment is long range coordination betweenthe vehicles. Shown in FIG. 6, this serves to allow vehicles 410 and 420to find linking partners. The system has some knowledge of the locationand/or destination of the self-vehicle and of other equipped vehicles onthe road. The system can thus suggest nearby vehicles with which tolink.

FIG. 8 shows the technology to enable such a system: a long rangecommunication system 880 and a central server 890. The server 890 and/orthe system onboard each vehicle makes decisions and suggestions based onknowledge of one or more of vehicle location, destination, load,weather, traffic conditions, vehicle type, trailer type, recent historyof linking, fuel price, driver history, or others. When a linkingopportunity presents itself, the driver is notified, and can manuallyadjust his speed to reduce the distance between the vehicles, or thesystem can automatically adjust the speed.

These linking opportunities can also be determined while the vehicle isstationary, such as at a truck stop, rest stop, weigh station,warehouse, depot, etc. They can also be calculated ahead of time by thefleet manager. They may be scheduled at time of departure, or hours ordays ahead of time, or may be found ad-hoc while on the road, with orwithout the assistance of the coordination functionality of the system.

The determination of which vehicle to suggest may take into accountseveral factors, and choose an optimum such as the vehicle whichminimizes a cost function. For example, it may minimize a weighted costfunction of the distance between the vehicles and the distance betweentheir destinations:Optimum=min(W_(p)(Pos_(a)−Pos_(b))²+W_(d)(Des_(e)−Des_(b))²), whereW_(p) and W_(d) are the weights on the two cost terms respectively. Thiscost function could have any of the factors listed above.

Once the two vehicles have decided to coordinate, they may manuallyadjust their speed, or it may be automatic. If manual, the system maysuggest to the leader to slow down, and to the follower to speed up. Orif the leader is stationary (at a truck stop, rest stop, etc.), it maysuggest that he delay his departure the appropriate amount of time.These suggestions may be based on vehicle speed, destination, driverhistory, or other factors. If the system automatically controls thespeed, it may operate the truck in a Cruise Control or Adaptive CruiseControl type mode, with the speed chosen to bring the two vehiclescloser together. The system may also operate in a semi-automatic mode,where it limits the speed of the leading vehicle, to bring them closertogether.

Once the vehicles are close together, the system takes control of therear vehicle 420 and controls it to a close following distance behindthe front vehicle 410 (FIG. 7). The driver may use an input of thesystem (such as the GUI) to activate this transition, or it can beautomatic based upon distance between the two vehicles. The keytechnology to allow this link is shown in FIG. 9, consisting primarilyof a distance/relative speed sensor, and a communication link. The typeof functionality of this link is shown in FIG. 10, where informationabout a braking event is sent from the front vehicle 410 to the rearvehicle 420. Other information may include accelerometer data (filteredor unfiltered), tire pressure, information about obstacles or othervehicles in front of the lead truck. Also, any of the above data may bepassed from the front truck 410 to the rear truck 420 that relates totrucks in front of the pair (for example, to allow safe platoons of 3 ormore trucks). During the close-following mode, the system controls theengine torque and braking, with no driver intervention required. Thedriver is still steering the vehicle.

The linking event may consist of a smooth transition to the closedistance following. This may take the form of a smooth targettrajectory, with a controller that tries to follow this trajectory.Using Dm as the safe relative distance in manual mode, and Da as thedesired distance in semi-autonomous following mode, and a time Tt forthe transition to occur, the target distance may beD_(g)=D_(m)+(D_(a)−D_(m))*(1−cos(pi*t/T_(d)))/2 for t less than or equalto T_(d). Thus in this way the change in gap per time is smallest at thebeginning and the end of the transition, and largest in the middle,providing a smooth response. Other possible forms of this equationinclude exponentials, quadratics or higher powers, hyperbolictrigonometric functions, or a linear change. This shape may also becalculated dynamically, changing while the maneuver is performed basedon changing conditions or other inputs.

The driver may deactivate the system in several ways. Application of thebrake pedal may resume normal control, or may trigger a mode where thedriver's braking is simply added to the system's braking. Applying theaccelerator pedal may deactivate the system, returning to a manual mode.Other driver inputs that may trigger a system deactivation include: Turnsignal application, steering inputs larger or faster than a threshold,clutch pedal application, a gear change, Jake (compression) brakeapplication, trailer brake application, ignition key-off, and others.The driver can also deactivate the system by selecting an option on theGUI screen or other input device.

In the event of any system malfunction, including but not limited tocomponent failures, software failures, mechanical damage, etc., thesystem may react in one of several safe ways. In general the trailingtruck will start braking to ensure a safe gap is maintained. Thisbraking may continue until the trailing truck has come to a completestop, or it may continue only until a nominally safe distance isachieved (safe without automated control), or it may continue only untilthe malfunction has been identified. Additionally, one of several alertsmay be used to notify the driver of the malfunction and subsequentaction of the control system: a braking jerk, consisting of a smallbraking command, an audible tone, a seat vibration, a display on the GUIor other display, flashing the instrument cluster or other interiorlights, increasing or decreasing engine torque momentarily, activationof the “Jake” (compression) brake, or other useful alerts.

To enable some or all of the described functionality, the system mayhave some or all of the following components shown in FIG. 11: Anaccelerator pedal interceptor 1140, either on the vehicle bus or as aset of analog voltages, to be used to command torque from the engine. Amodified brake valve 1150, which allows the system to command brakingeven in the absence of driver command. A forward-looking RADAR or LIDARunit 1130, which senses distance and relative speed of the vehicle infront 410. A dash mounted user interface 1120, which may also house aforward looking camera, which is used for the driver to interact withand control the system. An antenna array 1110, used for the short andlong range communication systems, and for a GPS receiver.

FIG. 12 shows the system architecture for one embodiment 1200. The user1210 interacts with the system through a Graphical User Interface box1220 (which may alternatively be integrated with the control box 1230).The user 1210 receives information (a) from visual and or auditoryalerts, and can make system requests (e.g., for linking orcoordination). The GUI box 1220 communicates with a long range data link1240 (b). The GUI box 1220 is responsible for managing this data link,sending data via the link, and receiving data via the link. A controlbox 1230 (which may be alternatively integrated with the GUI box)receives sensor information 1250 (c), short range data link 1260information (e), and controls the actuators 1270 (f). It receivesinformation from the GUI 1220 via a wired or wireless link (d), andsends information to the GUI 1220 to be relayed to the driver and/orlong range communication link 1240. Alternately, the long rangecommunication link 1240 may connect to the control box 1230. In thiscase, the GUI box 1220 may be an extremely simple (low cost) device, ormay even be eliminated from the system entirely.

FIG. 13 shows one embodiment of the Control Box 1230, with the coresensors and actuators. Via connection (a), typically a CAN interface,the control box 1230 configures the radar unit 1310 and receives data.Connection (b) gives the control box acceleration information in 2 or 3axes. The data link (c) provides information about a leading truck's 410acceleration, or is used to provide that same information to a followingtruck 420. The brake valve 1340 (d) provides data on brake pressure, andis used to apply pressure via a command from the control box 1230. Theaccelerator command 1390 is sent via an analog voltage or acommunications signal (CAN or otherwise). The control box performscalculations to process the sensor information, information from theGUI, and any other data sources, and determine the correct set ofactuator commands to attain the current goal (example: maintaining aconstant following distance to the preceding vehicle).

FIG. 15 shows one embodiment of the coordination and linkingfunctionality. First the system identifies a vehicle available forcoordination 1510 (example: within a certain range, depending on theroute of the two vehicles). Once one of the vehicles has accepted 1522or 1524, the other can then accept, meaning that the pair has agreed tocoordinate for possible linking 1530. Depending on vehicle positioning,weight of load, vehicle equipment, and other factors, a vehicle withinlinking range may be identified as a Following Vehicle Available forLinking 1542 or a Leading Vehicle Available for Linking 1544. If neitherof these is the case, the system returns to coordination mode. Once aFollowing Vehicle Available for Coordination has Accepted the link 1552,the Self Vehicle then also accept the link 1553, initiating the link.Upon completion of the link the vehicles are now linked 1562. Similarly,once a Leading Vehicle Available for Coordination has Accepted the link1554, the Self Vehicle then also accept the link 1555, initiating thelink. Upon completion of the link the vehicles are now linked 1564.

Safety in the event of emergency maneuvers by the leading vehicle 410 isensured by the use of the communication link between the two vehicles.This link may send some or all of the following: brake applicationpressure, brake air supply reservoir pressure, engine torque, engineRPM, compression (Jake) brake application, accelerator pedal position,engine manifold pressure, computed delivered torque, vehicle speed,system faults, battery voltage, and radar/lidar data.

The data link 1260 has very low latency (approximately 10 ms in oneembodiment), and high reliability. This could be, but is not limited to,WiFi, radio modem, Zigbee, or other industry standard format. This linkcould also be a non-industry-standard format. In the event of a datalink loss, the trailing vehicles should immediately start slowing, toensure that if the front vehicle happens to brake immediately when thelink is lost, the gap can be maintained safely.

In addition to safe operation during the loss of the data link 1260, thesystem should be safe in the event of failure of components of thesystem. For most failures, the trailing vehicles 420 start braking,until the driver takes control. This ensures that in the worst casewhere the front vehicle 410 starts to brake immediately when a systemcomponent fails, the system is still safe. The modified brake valve 1340is also designed such that in the event of a complete failure, thedriver can still brake the vehicle.

Ordering of the vehicles: The system arranges the vehicles on the roadto ensure safety. This order may be determined by vehicle weight/load,weather/road conditions, fuel savings or linking time accrued, brakingtechnology on the vehicle, destination or other factors. The system will(graphically or otherwise) tell the drivers which vehicle should be inthe front. For example, to mitigate fatigue, the system may cause thetrucks to exchange positions on a periodic basis.

FIG. 16 shows some additional safety features the system may have toprevent other types of accidents unrelated to the close following mode.One such feature is to use the video stream from the front lookingcamera to detect drifting within or out of the lane. This is done bylooking at the edges or important features on the leading vehicle 410,and calculating the lateral offset from that vehicle. When it isdetected, the system can react with a braking jerk (a short brakingapplication to get the driver's attention), slowing down, or a brakingjerk in the leading vehicle. The system can also use the front mountedradar to detect obstacles or stationary vehicles in the road, even whennot in close-following mode. When these are detected, it can apply abraking jerk, slow the vehicle, or provide visual or auditory warnings.The system can also use the accelerator pedal signal to determine whenthe driver is not engaged with the vehicle (or other driver states) andreact accordingly, such as slowing the vehicle or disabling the system.

To facilitate rapid deployment, a simpler version of the system enablesvehicles to be a leading vehicle, shown in FIG. 14. The components onthis version are a subset of those on the full system, so there is noautomation. There are several embodiments of this reduced set offunctionality, with different subsets of the components from the fullsystem. One minimal system simply performs two functions: transmitssufficient data to the trailing vehicle to allow close following, andalerts the front driver to a linking request and allows him/her toaccept or decline it. As such, this version has only the data linkfunctionality 1460. It connects to the brake pressure sensor andelectrical power. This system may also have additional components,including an accelerometer 1450 and/or an extremely simple userinterface and/or long range data communication 1440.

The full system may also provide other fuel economy optimizations. Thesemay include grade-based cruise control, where the speed set-point isdetermined in part by the grade angle of the road and the upcoming road.The system can also set the speed of the vehicles to attain a specificfuel economy, given constraints on arrival time. Displaying the optimumtransmission gear for the driver 1410 can also provide fuel economybenefits.

The system may also suggest an optimal lateral positioning of thetrucks, to increase the fuel savings. For example, with a cross wind, itmay be preferable to have a slight offset between the trucks, such thatthe trailing truck is not aligned perfectly behind the leading truck.This lateral position may be some combination of a relative position tothe surrounding truck(s) or other vehicles, position within the lane,and global position.

The data link between the two vehicles is critical to safety, so thesafety critical data on this link has priority over any other data. Thusthe link can be separated into a safety layer (top priority) and aconvenience layer (lower priority). The critical priority data is thatwhich is used to actively control the trailing vehicle. Examples of thismay include acceleration information, braking information, systemactivation/deactivation, system faults, range or relative speed, orother data streams related to vehicle control.

The lower priority convenience portion of the link can be used toprovide data to the driver to increase his pleasure of driving. This caninclude social interaction with the other drivers, video from the frontvehicle's camera to provide a view of the road ahead. This link can alsobe used when the vehicle is stationary to output diagnostic informationgathered while the vehicle was driving.

Because the system is tracking the movements of the vehicles, atremendous amount of data about the fleet is available. This informationcan be processed to provide analysis of fleet logistics, individualdriver performance, vehicle performance or fuel economy, backhaulopportunities, or others.

The system will have an “allow to merge” button to be used when thedriver wants another vehicle to be able to merge in between the twovehicles. The button will trigger an increase in the vehicle gap to anormal following distance, followed by an automatic resumption of theclose following distance once the merging vehicle has left. The lengthof this gap may be determined by the speed of the vehicles, the currentgap, an identification of the vehicle that wishes to merge, the roadtype, and other factors. The transition to and from this gap may have asmooth shape similar to that used for the original linking event. UsingDv as the relative distance to allow a vehicle to cut in, and Da as thedesired distance in semi-autonomous following mode, and a time Tt forthe transition to occur, the target distance may beD_(g)=D_(a)+(D_(v)−D_(a))*(1−cos(pi*t/T_(d)))/2 for t less than or equalto T_(d).

For vehicles with an automatic transmission, the system can sense theapplication of the clutch pedal by inferring such from the engine speedand vehicle speed. If the ratio is not close to one of the transmissionratios of the vehicle, then the clutch pedal is applied or the vehicleis in neutral. In this event the system should be disengaged, becausethe system no longer has the ability to control torque to the drivewheels. For example this calculation may be performed as a series ofbinary checks, one for each gear:Gear_1=abs(RPM/WheelSpeed−Gear1Ratio)<Gear1Threshold and so on for eachgear. Thus if none of these are true, the clutch pedal is engaged.

The system can estimate the mass of the vehicle to take into accountchanges in load from cargo. The system uses the engine torque andmeasured acceleration to estimate the mass. In simplest form, this saysthat M_total=Force_Wheels/Acceleration. This may also be combined withvarious smoothing algorithms to reject noise, including Kalmanfiltering, Luenberger observers, and others. This estimate is then usedin the control of the vehicle for the trajectory generation, systemfail-safes, the tracking controller, and to decide when full brakingpower is needed. The mass is also used to help determine the order ofthe vehicles on the road.

Many modifications and additions to the embodiments described above arepossible and are within the scope of the present invention. For example,the system may also include the capability to have passenger cars orlight trucks following heavy trucks. This capability may be built in atthe factory to the passenger cars and light trucks, or could be a subsetof the components and functionality described here, e.g., as anaftermarket product.

The system may also include an aerodynamic design optimized for thepurpose of convoying, as shown in FIG. 17. This may be the design of thetractor or trailer, or the design of add-on aerodynamic aids thatoptimize the airflow for the convoy mode. This design may correspond toa specific speed, at which the airflow will be optimized for the convoymode.

For example, a hood may deploy, e.g., slide forward, from the roof ofthe follower vehicle. Portions of the hood may be textured (like anaerodynamic golf ball surface) or may be transparent so as not tofurther obscure the follower driver's view. In another example, theexisting aerodynamic cone of a follower truck may be repositioned,and/or the cone profile dynamically reconfigured, depending on vehicularspeed and weather conditions. This aerodynamic addition or modificationmay be on the top, bottom, sides, front, or back of the trailer ortractor, or a combination thereof.

This aerodynamic design may be to specifically function as a leadvehicle 1710, specifically as a following vehicle 1720, or an optimizedcombination of the two. It may also be adjustable in some way, eitherautomatically or manually, to convert between optimized configurationsto be a lead vehicle, a following vehicle, both, or to be optimized forsolitary travel.

The data link between the two vehicles may be accomplished in one ofseveral ways, including, but not limited to: a standard patch antenna, afixed directional antenna, a steerable phased-array antenna, anunder-tractor antenna, an optical link from the tractor, an optical linkusing one or more brake lights as sender or receiver, or others.

The data link, or other components of the system, may be able toactivate the brake lights, in the presence or absence of brake pedal orbrake application.

Other possible modifications include supplemental visual aids fordrivers of follower vehicles, including optical devices such as mirrorsand periscopes, to enable follower drivers to get a betterforward-looking view, which is partially obscured by the lead vehicle.

Any portion of the above-described components included in the system maybe in the cab, in the trailer, in each trailer of a multi-trailerconfiguration, or a combination of these locations.

The components may be provided as an add-on system to an existing truck,or some or all of them may be included from the factory. Some of thecomponents may also be from existing systems already installed in thetruck from the factory or as an aftermarket system.

The present invention is also intended to be applicable to current andfuture vehicular types and power sources. For example, the presentinvention is suitable for 2-wheeler, 3-wheelers, 4 wheelers,16-wheelers, gas powered, diesel powered, two-stroke, four-stroke,turbine, electric, hybrid, and any combinations thereof. The presentinvention is also consistent with many innovative vehicular technologiessuch as hands-free user interfaces including head-up displays, speechrecognition and speech synthesis, regenerative braking and multiple-axlesteering.

The system may also be combined with other vehicle control systems suchas Electronic Stability Control, Parking Assistance, Blind SpotDetection, Adaptive Cruise Control, Traffic Jam Assistance, Navigation,Grade-Aware Cruise Control, Automated Emergency Braking, Pedestriandetection, Rollover-Control, Anti-Jackknife control, Anti-Lock braking,Traction Control, Lane Departure Warning, Lanekeeping Assistance, andSidewind compensation. It may also be combined with predictive enginecontrol, using the command from the system to optimize future engineinputs.

In sum, the present invention provides systems and methods forSemi-Autonomous Vehicular Convoying. The advantages of such a systeminclude the ability to follow closely together in a safe, efficient,convenient manner.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, modifications, permutations, and substituteequivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. Althoughsub-section titles have been provided to aid in the description of theinvention, these titles are merely illustrative and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present invention.

It should also be noted that there are many alternative ways ofimplementing the methods and apparatuses of the present invention. It istherefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted asincluding all such alterations, modifications, permutations, andsubstitute equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized vehicular convoying control systemcomprising: a central server remote from the plurality of vehicles, thecentral server responsive to information regarding a plurality ofvehicles to determine a linking opportunity, at the central serverconfigured to determine the linking opportunity, between at least afirst vehicle and a second vehicle in the plurality of vehicles to formthe convoy: the information regarding the plurality of vehicles beingselected from the group consisting of: vehicle location, vehicledestination, vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; and along-range vehicular transceiver configured to enable the central serverto communicate the linking opportunity to at least one of the first andsecond vehicles in the plurality of vehicles; the communication of thelinking opportunity being such that the first and second vehicles caninitiate formation of the convoy.
 2. The convoying control system ofclaim 1, wherein the central server determines the linking opportunitybetween the first and second vehicles using the location and thedestination of each of the first and second vehicles.
 3. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 2 wherein the central server determines anordering of the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle inaccordance with at least one of: a vehicle weight, a vehicle load,weather condition, road condition, fuel remaining, fuel saving, accruedlinking time, braking technology, brake pad wear, a vehicular linkinglocation, and a destination address.
 4. The convoying control system ofclaim 2, wherein the central server determines the linking opportunityby minimizing a cost function computed using a distance between thefirst and second vehicles and a distance between destinations of thefirst and second vehicles.
 5. The convoying control system of claim 1wherein the central server is configured to receive vehicularinformation with the central server via the long-range vehiculartransceiver, the vehicular information including one of actual fuelsavings of one of the lead vehicle and the at least one followervehicle, a vehicle location, a vehicular speed, a direction of travel, avehicular load, a vehicular destination, driver information, a vehicularorigin, a cargo classification, an engine operating parameter, acontroller performance parameter such as a vehicular spacing, lateralpositions relative to another vehicle and the lane, a relative speed,video data, and a control system malfunction.
 6. The convoying controlsystem of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle and the second vehicle aretrucks.
 7. A computerized vehicular convoying control system comprising:a central server remote from a first vehicle and a second vehicle,wherein the central server is configured to determine a linkingopportunity between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, whereinthe central server is configured to receive information regarding thefirst vehicle and the second vehicle and determine the linkingopportunity based on the received information, and wherein the receivedinformation is selected from the group consisting of: vehicle location,vehicle destination, vehicle load, vehicle type, and trailer type; and along-range vehicular transceiver configured to enable the central serverto instruct at least one of the first vehicle and the second vehicle toform a convoy.
 8. The convoying control system of claim 7, wherein thecentral server instructs at least one of the first vehicle and thesecond vehicle to form the convoy.
 9. The convoying control system ofclaim 8, wherein the central server minimizes a cost function calculatedusing a distance between the first and second vehicles and a distancebetween destinations of the first and second vehicles prior toinstructing the at least one vehicle to form a convoy.
 10. The convoyingcontrol system of claim 8, wherein the first vehicle and the secondvehicle are trucks.
 11. A vehicle communications system comprising: aprocessor, configured to select a lead vehicle and at least one followervehicle from a plurality of vehicles for autonomous or semi-autonomouslinking, the linking selection based on two or more elements selectedfrom the group consisting of a vehicular location, a vehiculardestination, a vehicular type, and a trailer type; a firstcommunications link, responsive to remotely communicated informationabout the linking selection, to communicate the linking selection to oneor more of the lead vehicle and the at least one follower vehicle, and asecond communications link for communication between the lead vehicleand the at least one follower vehicle.
 12. The system of claim 11,wherein the first communications link is further configured tofacilitate communications between the lead vehicle and the at least onefollower vehicle.
 13. The vehicle communications system of claim 11,wherein the processor is further configured to compute at least onevehicular trajectory for smoothly and efficiently managing long rangecoordination of the at least one follower vehicle with the lead vehicle.